As most of you know I had surgery on my right foot last november, still not unsensitive enough to walk comfortable yet.

In the checkout of an old duffer before allowing surgery a small melanoma was found on my right calf which everyone got in a hurry about and did surgery on it the 21st of December. Same leg so its really been fun. They also took out a nymph node in my crotch that was attached to the melanoma site.

Finally got tests results back yesterday. All clear on all fronts, caught it way early and things will be ok but check back with this doctor and my dermatalogist every six months. Take a breath cause this person that has really not been sick my entire life I was thrown off a bit.

Now the point of all this is,,,I've spent my life outside and loved being in the sun. Grew up on a farm, worked outside, drag raced all over the country, camped fished all outside without a hat. I had warnings years ago when the top of my left ear would erupt now and then. No matter, did 10 Bloomsdays, and in my years traveling and motel staying walked about 20 miles a week in the sun no hat.

Well those bill are coming due not that I'm going to soon be 70 and I want to tell all you behind me, to take better care than I did. I've had spots that were not yet cancer taken off my left arm, left side of my neck, and on my face but still was a bit slow "GETTING" it.

I wear shorts most of the time winter and summer and now had a spot on one leg.

Sooooo if you love the sun like I do, please take care, use #50 sunscreen twice a day, just take a moment to be safe. Don't wind up like I almost did. And a quick lesson here. All sunscreen is about the same, the numbers, 15-30-50, hell now even 100 are how long the coverage lasts. For example 15 lasts and hour and a half, 50 for about 5 hours. I like 50, 100 is ok but kind of thick and harder to handle when its not above 70 outside.

With all this talk about our ozone layer being thinner than it ever has, its only going to get worse. Don't be forced to support skin and cancer doctors like I did.

Take care of yourselves cause even if you all piss me off I'd miss each and every one of you except Ray-Duh Jon.

I've always hated the sun. I burn in about 20-30 minutes if I'm not slathered up with sunscreen when I go outside. Hell, when I met my wife, she used to sunbathe with a friend of hers. I convinced her to stop. Her friend was not pleased with me.

I'll be safe this summer, I'm putting well over an extra mile of air between me and the sun.

Thanks tho, Bro.

Journalism is dead, it's been replaced by creative writing aka fake news.Critical thinking is pretty much dead too. I miss the hearsay rule. The concept of "ethic" has been stripped from the Journalism curriculum.